How Chris Aced Org 1 and Org 2
Last semester I had the pleasure of working with “Chris” (a pseudonym) on second-semester organic chemistry topics. Before we met, Chris had already obtained a
Read moreDeciding SN1/SN2/E1/E2 – The Solvent
Secondary Alkyl Halides With Strongly Basic Nucleophiles. The “Ask Your Instructor” Edition In the previous four articles in this series, we covered how to identify where
Read moreWhy Organic Chemistry Made Me Feel Dumb
Today I’ll share with you one thing about organic chemistry that made me feel really, really dumb when I took it. And looking back, I
Read moreWrapup: The Key Factors For Determining SN1/SN2/E1/E2
SN1/SN2/E1/E2 – Summarizing The Key Factors That Determine Whether A Reaction Will Be SN1, SN2, E1 or E2 In this article we walk through the
Read moreAlkyl Halide Reaction Map And Summary
Alkyl Halide Reaction Map In the last post, we began our discussion of synthesis by starting with the reactions of alkanes. Since we’ve learned only
Read moreElimination Reactions (2): The Zaitsev Rule
Elimination Reactions: The Zaitsev Rule Elimination reactions usually occur such that they are removing a hydrogen from the carbon attached to the fewest hydrogens. This
Read moreElimination Reactions Are Favored By Heat
Elimination Reactions Are Favored By Heat Elimination reactions are often in competition with substitution reactions Generally speaking, adding heat tends to increase the proportion of elimination products relative
Read moreInterview: How Jay Got an A+ In Organic Chemistry
“Jay” (not his real name) wrote the other day with this note. I just finished up Organic II. I wanted to thank you for creating
Read more#ChemCoach : Online Organic Chemistry Tutor
For any readers who are interested in chemistry as a career, blogger SeeArrOhh of Just Like Cooking is running a blogging carnival called #ChemCoach where
Read moreTwo Elimination Reaction Patterns
A Tale of Two Elimination Reaction Patterns Like I said in the introduction to substitution reactions, organic chemistry is an empirical, experimental science. We make
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